Just a heads up - I'm from Spain too and distribute music through CD Baby. When I submitted my W-8BEN claiming the 0% rate, they rejected it the first time saying I needed to include my Spanish tax identification number (NIE) as well as get an ITIN from the US. Had to resubmit with both numbers.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my music royalties from Spain! The confusion about 0% vs 5% rates comes from different types of royalties being grouped together in some documents. For copyright royalties specifically (which includes music compositions), Spain does have a 0% withholding rate under Article 12 of the US-Spain tax treaty. The 5% rate you're seeing likely refers to industrial royalties or patents. A couple of important things I learned the hard way: 1. You absolutely need an ITIN to claim treaty benefits - the form will be rejected without it 2. Make sure to write "Copyright Royalties" specifically in line 10, not just "royalties" 3. Keep copies of everything because some distributors will ask you to resubmit the form annually The process took me about 4 months total (mostly waiting for the ITIN), but it was worth it to avoid that 30% withholding. Good luck with your $1,200 payment - that's a nice chunk of change to not lose to unnecessary taxes!

Anyone else catch that the OP mentioned they're military? You need to check if you're within 50 miles of your new duty station. If your old home is more than 50 miles from your new assignment, there are special rules that might help you with those expenses under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.

I'm also military and went through this exact situation two years ago during our PCS. The timing issue you're dealing with is tricky, but here's what I learned from my experience and tax preparer: Since you were still living in the home through January 7th, 2025, that's likely when your property was actually "placed in service" for rental purposes, not December 13th when you listed it. The IRS considers a property available for rent when it's truly ready and available - not when you're still using it personally. For your December expenses while still living there, these would typically be considered startup costs that get deducted starting in 2025 (when the property was placed in service), not on your 2024 return. However, as military, you might have some additional considerations due to your PCS orders. I'd recommend documenting everything carefully - keep receipts separated by month and note what work was done. Also check if your expenses qualify as repairs (immediately deductible) versus improvements (must be depreciated). Simple fixes like patching holes or touching up paint are repairs, but things like new flooring or major upgrades are improvements. The military angle is important here - there are sometimes special provisions for service members dealing with rental property conversions due to official orders. You might want to specifically ask about military-related timing considerations when you file.

I tracked my refund journey with embarrassing precision this year (spreadsheet and all, haha). Here's my timeline: - Feb 2: Filed electronically - Feb 21: WMR changed from PATH to processing - Feb 24: Transcript finally appeared with 570 code - Feb 28: 570 resolved, 846 appeared with DDD - Mar 2: Money in account So about 8 days from WMR change to deposit. The transcript lag had me worried too, but it all worked out perfectly. Hang in there - you're on the right track!

Thank you for posting this - I'm in almost the exact same situation! My WMR updated from PATH to processing yesterday, but my transcript is still showing N/A. As a fellow military family member, I completely understand the stress of timing with PCS moves. From what I'm reading in these comments, it seems like the 2-7 day lag between WMR and transcript updates is pretty normal. I'm going to give it the full week before I start worrying. Keep us posted on your timeline - it's really helpful to have real data points from people in similar situations. Hoping your transcript updates soon and your refund comes through in time for your move!

Don't forget to check if there's a totalization agreement between UAE and US for social security! It might not apply in your case, but it's worth checking. I got caught having to pay self-employment tax in the US even though I was working from Singapore because there was no totalization agreement. The W-8BEN doesn't cover social security taxes. Also, keep super detailed records of where you physically worked each day. If you ever visit the US for business, those days could potentially be considered US-sourced income and subject to different rules.

Great point about social security taxes! You're absolutely right that the UAE doesn't have a totalization agreement with the US, so this is definitely something to watch out for. As an independent contractor, you might still be subject to US self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) even if your regular income isn't subject to withholding. The self-employment tax applies if you have net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more, and unfortunately, the foreign earned income exclusion doesn't apply to self-employment tax. However, since you're performing all services outside the US, you should generally not be subject to self-employment tax on that income. But here's the tricky part - if your US client treats you as a contractor and issues you a 1099, they might report payments to you to the IRS, which could trigger questions. Make sure your contract clearly establishes that you're providing services from outside the US and consider having the contract specify that you're operating under UAE jurisdiction. Document everything - flight records, lease agreements, utility bills - anything that proves your physical location during work periods. This becomes crucial if there's ever any dispute about where services were actually performed.

Does anyone know how the tax stuff works if you use bitcoin or other crypto for sports betting? I've been using this offshore site that only takes crypto deposits and I'm confused about how to handle the taxes.

One thing to keep in mind about sports betting taxes that I learned the hard way - the $600 W-2G threshold only applies to certain types of gambling like horse racing and casinos. For sports betting, the platforms are supposed to issue a 1099-MISC if your winnings exceed $600 AND are at least 300 times your wager. But even if you don't get any tax forms, you're still required to report ALL winnings as income. I'd also recommend setting aside a portion of any big wins throughout the year for taxes, especially if you're not having taxes withheld from other income. Getting hit with a big tax bill in April because you didn't plan for it can be brutal. I usually put about 25-30% of any significant winnings into a separate savings account just to be safe. The record-keeping really is crucial - not just for potential audits, but also to help you understand if you're actually profitable after taxes. A lot of casual bettors think they're doing better than they actually are when they don't account for the full tax impact.